Turning the Page — Greatest Sports Figures

Stupid question, right? Everybody finds their job a little mundane and possibly repetetive from time to time. That time for me was in the lull of the sports calendar this past summer, but my point is we can all relate to a lack of excitement in the workplace.

Over the past few weeks, however, I have been re-energized by one of the Daily News’ most popular initiatives in my short tenure here — the top-25 Sports Figures in Jasper County history. This contest has been really interesting for not just us at the sports desk, but all around the newsroom. I have had debates with coworkers arguing in favor or against people who I never saw compete. It has been a blast!

II’m particularly impressed with the amount of turnout this competition had. We had submissions come into the office in droves. I’m constantly reminded of what a community thing sports is, but this competition has been a shock to my system in that area. I had no idea the passion people have when reminiscing upon athletes of their past. I’m sure when the list is ultimately revealed, we will receive some phone calls about how people disagree with where a certain sports figure is or the fact that they are on the list at all, but we understand that comes with the territory.

Most importantly, I’m really impressed by the breadth and depth of histroric sports figures that have come out of this community. On our list, and this is not including athletes who missed the cut, three NFL players, track stars, boxers, bowlers, coaches, distance runners and of course, there are a couple on there with some major ties to Iowa’s prodigal son — wrestling.

Given the amount of response you have had to this competition, I hope our publication on the top-25 serves you well. We have certainly put in some work to get these sports figures profiled in the correct light. If our descriptions of these sports figures fail to live up to the lofty, almost mythical status of some of these figures, I apologize in advance, but hopefully, you will see that I understand the passion. That passion is what makes sport in and of itself so captivating.